Community Engagement (part two)

I am currently reading "Intelligent Church" by Steve Chalke. In his chapter on being a generous church (which is part of the way to being an "intelligent church"), Steve talks about the need to be positive about the possibilities and potential of all people, and to approach them with love and goodwill. Too often the church has relied upon fear being a motivating factor for involvement in Christian congregations - fear for what might happen after death, or fear for what might happen if you ignore God and keep on "sinning". However "fear" is not creative, not really motivating, only undermining and oppressive, and does not easily promote one to appreciate how wonderful God is. Some of the more problematical (even brutal) of the passages in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) need to be seen or re-interpreted through the eyes of Jesus ... the great welcomer of "sinners". If we want to know what God is like, it is suggested in the New Testament that we look directly at Jesus. We would still of course have to say that "sin" (i.e. behaviour that is destructive to self and others and God's creation generally) is serious, and it does need addressing, but it is best addressed in the company of others who are also on a journey of transformation (toward, as we like to say, bearing the image of Jesus ... who is our prime example of life-honouring true humanity). And, if we want to embrace the possibilities of the future, we have to express how much God already loves every person. God so loves gracefully and generously - which we should seek to emulate. Chalke quotes theologian Walter Brueggemann who says, "People are not changed by moral exhortation but by transformed imagination". So an "intelligent church" paints a picture in its neighbourhood of what could be ... both in people's individual lives and in their relational interactions! And a generous church sees the good in others and responds with a spirit of kindness and open-handedness (rather than judgement). There is beauty to be found in everyone we meet.